It will be at #7 on the Mar 16 NYT Series Bestselling list! What is the significance of this? The series list measures sales for an entire series of book, not just the single title. Thus it measures the strength of all books. Getting onto the series list means competing with titles such as Percy Jackson, Divergent, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

And…

It will also hit at #114 for USA Today’s Bestselling list! I know that doesn’t sound like the most impressive number, but this list measures all books sold in this country, not just children’s titles. Which means last week, it was the 114th top selling of all books.

Due to higher than expected demand, the book is already going to its second printing.

And who I have to thank? Why, you! Those who bought books, or asked your library to get a copy, or recommended the book to other readers. Thank you, thank you. Getting to add these titles to my name is an honor for me, but an achievement by you. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

140 Comments

KatieMarch 6, 2014

My friend and I read the series and we blogged about it in our class blog and got almost the whole class to read it! Everyone who has read the series (or has started it) loves it so far! We love your books!!!!!!!

Jen I read all of the books and they were amazing. Please keep writing and add on to the trilogy and I want to know what happens to the kids if not I’ll write it for you with your permission worrying is my passion

Gabby, I may one day write more to the story, and for those reasons the author always keeps control of the official canon of their world. However, if there are stories you want to create for yourself, best wishes!

Honestly, I think Diary of a Wimpy kid is boring now. I mean it’s the same stuff over and over again. Like the main character is just getting into fights with his brother, having crushes, and stuff like that. No offense to the author, but I think it sucks because it doesn’t exactly have a plot.
Anyway, my friends reserved The Shadow Throne and we got to read it before our own copies came. When my friend gave it to me in class I screamed and started crying literally. I always heard of the term ‘crying out of happiness’ but I never experienced it. (It felt awesome to experience it thought, except for the part where my insides felt like jelly and I couldn’t exactly control my body) My teacher was like, why’d you scream? I remember the shock on his face when he saw the tears streaming down my face. I had two major exams that day and I aced them (they were Social Studies and ELA, two of my best subjects) but I couldn’t care less. I was shaking the whole day and reading in between classes and during gym and stuff.
And I have a question. Why would you do that to me? I nearly had a heart attack when Imogen…… well you know what happened to her. I thought she actually died :’( I cried at least like 3 or 4 times. And Tobias &Amarinda; I always knew they would get together and stuff. I’m just like so…. I can’t even describe my happiness, though I am sad the series is over.
I want to thank you for writing such an amazing series. I hope to read more of your writings and I’m sure I’ll enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the Ascendance Trilogy 🙂

i finished the shadow throne!! by far the best book i have read. it kept me at the edge of my seat. but it was cruel what you put jaron through 😉 thank you for signing it too. and congratulations on the best selling lists.

I stumbled upon the Ascendance trilogy a year or two ago at a world book day fair at my school and immediately loved it. The character of Sage struck me at first glance. He was the sort of character you love and relate to. Of course, most of us aren’t undercover princes disguised as an orphaned thief xD I was skeptical of Conner but thought I might be misjudging him and Mott was a favourite from the beginning.

I loved your choice of character names, I loved the description you gave in each page, and the never-ending excitement and suspension that came with the plot. I was engrossed in Sage’s story and felt as though I was inside the book, watching as a bystander and itching to get involved. It was the biggest plot-twist I had ever read when I found out that Sage was indeed Jaron, the missing prince. It was a good surprise. There is so much I’d love to say, about Devlin and Imogen and characters in the first, second and third books, but I’ll settle for saying this:
Your books are exceptional and brilliant and creative and I love to read them. I hope to see more of your name in the future and congrats on coming #7 on the NY Bestseller list!
I myself want to be an author when I’m older and your books inspire me to achieve that goal. For that I want to say thank you.

My friends had to constantly ask me if I was okay because I would gasp, cry, and have these “attacks” where I gasp a lot and I-usually-say something like, “NOOOOO, NO, NO!” But it’s a good sign ’cause it means I like the book…a lot! But it was soo heart wrenching! WHY, WHY, WHY?! Still, it was an AMAZING book. Good job!

great book loved it and u got me what almost happened !IF U HAVE NOT READ THE SHADOW THROWN STOP READING! the gallows omg i thought he was going to die but he always finds a way out ALWAYS great job another amazing book and Jaron great no words can desescribe non non non NON (•‿•)

Huge plot twists in the books which I enjoyed greatly!
Still trying to finish up The Shadow Throne, so far so good!
Hopefully there will be a book signing in NYC soon?
Also, hopefully the Ascendance Trilogy will be produced into a huge motion picture very soon! Fingers crossed!

You deserve it Jennifer! What’s interesting is that when The False Prince came out I told everyone to read it and they didn’t listen and now when thier class is reading it as a class, they admit to me that it was a good book. 🙂

Ms. Jennifer,
Thank you so much for the False Prince Series! I LOVE the books! I read the Shadow Throne the day it came out (and I died multiple times waiting for the book, and worse, reading the book, but I won’t give anything away). I absolutely love reading, I could live solely off it, and I’ve read Percy Jackson and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but I can tell right away you’ll have absolutely no trouble competing with them, honestly, the False Prince Series is a lot better than those books. I had the biggest heart attack of all time reading the book. I thought everything that happened to the characters was real, and when Jaron (I kind of like calling him Sage) was like, “And then my world collapsed.” That was like, the end of my life! I skipped dinner and didn’t stop reading, how could I? (I kind of screamed at that part and sort of cried, and when Mott and Fink, and Imogene, and Roden had all of that stuff happen to them) You are SO inspiring, and the Shadow Throne is like your best book yet, I finished it, but I am still dying, it’s all over! It is the best book series ever and I think I’ll carry the book probably wherever I go. Oh, and I liked the ending. The writing, it just feels like home . . . I can’t describe it, but this book has cut me really deep, deeper than any other book I’ve ever read. Everyone says reading is like going into another world, which is true, but I’ve always thought it a cheesy comparison to what reading really is. And once I read your book, it was like the world was over. It is SO much more than any words have described books to be, things like “reading is going into another world” can’t even begin to describe how wonderful reading is, actually how wonderful the Ascendance Trilogy is! I personally think there are no words in the human language that can ever possibly describe books, more specifically, The False Prince, The Runaway King, and The Shadow Throne. I did practically EVERYTHING to get my hands on the Shadow Throne, literally, but now that it’s over, I feel so sad! I LOVE your books, and I got the Shadow Throne the day it came out. Will you be writing a fourth book? I know many have asked you this already, and if you don’t, I understand, the ending of The Shadow Throne is just so perfect. Oh, and one other thing, I remember first reading the False Prince, and it was like, better than Harry Potter, and then I heard there was a second book (of course there had to be) and I wanted to die to get it, but I didn’t think it would be as good as the first book, The False Prince was just too good to be true. Then I read it, and it was better! And The Shadow Throne simply was incredible! Though I felt like crying at the parts when Jaron was suffering, poor Jaron! And Rashida, I went through the same experience, I read through the whole day at school, every second of free time I was reading, the book was so awesome! I kind of shocked my teacher a bit when I sort of leapt/screamed when Imogene . . .when Imogene had that happen to her. And when I got the book I was literally shaking, it was just to awesome, to real. . . especially after The Runaway King’s ending, I was tortured waiting for The Shadow Throne!!!
Completely sad the series is over, though it was a wonderful ending, and I hope to read all of the other books you have written, I have no doubt they’ll be as good as the Ascendance Trilogy.:)

Warmest thanks, Alyse. That’s very kind. I am so glad that you’ve enjoyed the books so very deeply. I don’t know whether there will be more to Jaron’s story, but certainly there are more stories in me, and I hope you’ll enjoy them too!

ok so i made it very clear that after i heard the whole thing about jaron going to u know…die i said to myself over and over that i would not read it at school incase u know that happens in school my teacher would be like ”and willam penn founed-” and i would be sitting there and tears like rivers streaming down my face noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo slaming my desk no no no no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and slide down under my desk balling my eyes out and some other stuff that nobody wants to see like me screaming my life is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all that yeah nobody wants to see that so i get it after school running full speed into the book store to the place where they keep the false prince and the runaway king and i see it grab it off the shelf look at my dad ”i have it ”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the go down to the rug keeping my eyes on the cover leap up ”ok lets go pay”so i come home after my public brake down and read it all day and i mean night too and the next morning before school i say ”even know i said that i wouldn’t bring it- oh what the heck ”so i am reading it in class when it happens u know Imogen yeah and trying not to cry i put my head down and all that is going through my mind is nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo why why why why there has to be a wedding at the end and in the end its fake but u almost got me just before he finds her at farthenwood i was like maby dont get your hopes up then he finds her and im like omg did he just they just …YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT HAPPENED YEAH HAPPY DANCE lets just say i was rely RELY RELY happy NO WORDS AND AT THE END I THOUGHT FOR A MIN and i was like omg jaron did the jaron i know just did he just- who am i kidding yes and my second thought was omg jaron!!!!!!!!!!!!! roden is right there he just saw that hes prob thinking what the heck i knew they were freinds but what in the world

Alyse,you have just summed up everything i wanted to say
and Ms.Nielsen i seriously you would return to Jaron’s world and write another book i was literally crying when it was over i still feel sad even as a type (and this is a month after i read the shadow throne)btw i so want t become an author and you inspired me so much, thanks!

Hee-hee. I sorta thought about not replying to this comment, just because in my mind, that would’ve been funny…

SalviaMay 23, 2014

I am totally like you, Alyse! Sage is such a cute name for him,and he is like, the most talented and real character I’ve ever read!This series places everything I’ve ever read in deep, deep shadow. I have not found a better book 🙂

Oh my goodness, the emotions I’ve felt the past few weeks with The Shadow Throne!! I pre-ordered it right before it came out and as soon as it came I couldn’t be distracted. I ended up reading it all in one evening, ending at 11 at night under the covers with a flashlight, and even after that I couldn’t sleep for hours just because I was replaying everything in the entire series in my mind. I got a few of my friends into it as well, and it took all my willpower not to spoil anything, especially when one of them got to the part when Imogen…well…yeah, and they looked right at me and were almost crying.
I just can’t believe it’s all over now, even though in the end all was well. Great work, Jen, and thank you for giving me such great pleasure (and also some tears). Keep up your amazing writing!!

OK so this is just a question. I feel embarrassed (and bad because of Tobias) asking this but I was wondering about it for a while.
So in The Shadow Throne Amarinda and Tobias get married, and they’re basically in love. I remember in The False Prince it was said that Amarinda had come to love Darius as well and they both looked forward to the marriage between them. Did her feeling change from Darius to Tobias or was it that she loved Darius just as she loved Jaron, as a brother? Or does she still love him?

I think a part of Amarinda will always love Darius, but she finally had to accept that he’s gone and she had to move on. But the fact that she loved Darius is part of her problem in ever really feeling attached to Jaron – they were just too alike and so it was always a little painful for her. She didn’t feel love for Tobias for a long time – he was just someone she could talk to. But when they were forced together for so long while Jaron was with the pirates, she began to feel something stronger for him. Once they were stranded alone in Carthya for so many days, she realized it was love.

At the library I checked out Divergent, just curious to see what it’s about, people are making a movie for it and everything. Just so you know, your books are way better then Divergent, I knew The False Prince is better then Percy Jackson and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (common knowledge) but I was curious about Divergent. So, don’t worry. It’s kind of obvious you’re better at writing. Don’t get me wrong, I like their books, it’s just something about yours that is different and slightly better. I personally think you should go into a competition with Harry Potter. Your books have gone wild, if you get a good movie made from them , they’ll go even wilder. LOVE YOUR BOOKS BY THE WAY!!!!!!!!!

Like your books. Super awesome. Died multiple times. Showed them to my friends, AND NOW WE’RE ALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR SERIES!Congratulations on getting to the top,honestly doesn’t surprise me. Hope you win,and wow, 114, competing with Divergent and everything, you’re super good. Wish you he best luck. Are there things around your house or experiences you had that you included in the story? If so, what are they? Did you right real live people you know into your stories, or include symbols from your past in your books? If so, what are they? Basically, did all of your books come from your imagination alone, or did you write from experience? If so, what are they?

Thank you, Grace. Sorry you died, but I’m glad you’re doing better now. I don’t write real people into my stories, mostly because I’m so mean to my characters, and so I wouldn’t want to think about real people when I do that. So for the most part, the stories just come out of my imagination.

Sorry Iris, I don’t have a final answer yet on the movie. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed too!

If they do make the movie, some details of the story will have to change, just because there’s no way they can fit a 300 page book into a two hour movie. But from what I’ve heard so far of their plans, I think it could be very awesome and I hope Paramount will decide to make it.

I just finished The Shadow Throne last night. First off, I want to thank you for writing this trilogy. It’s literally my most favorite series I’ve ever read.
The ending was fabulous. I really loved it, and I don’t think there’s good enough words to describe how I felt. It’s kind of bittersweet because the story’s over, but nevertheless, I’ll always keep the characters in my heart.
Also, I know it’s a little late, but congratulations on making it to top lists. You deserved it.

what i think u r the best righter i love all ur books and try to get my freinds into them too u r so inspiering [sorry i didnt spell that right] i want to be like u one day i read all the comments and not one of them r negitev [sorry i cant spell] u can beat all the divergent and all that any time(•‿•)

Dear Ms. Jennifer,
Hi! I absolutely love your books. When I read the first one, I couldn’t put it down and read it about ten times in one week! The Ascendant Trilogy immediately became my favorite series even above Percy Jackson and Harry Potter! I own copies of all three books and read them over and over in my free time! I love the plot, the characters, and pretty much everything! I really hope there’s a movie and that they stick to the plot! Recently, I’ve started a fan page on Instagram for your series (@the_ascendant_king)because almost no one on Instagram knows the series which is a life threatening issue obviously! I was wondering if there was any way you could mention this post in a blog of yours or anything so fans with Instagram can find this False Prince Fandom! If you can’t I completely understand, it’s a lot to ask of you. Even if you don’t, I love you and your books! Thank you so much for just existing!
-Hannah

Thank you, Hannah! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the books, and I appreciate you starting the fan page on Instagram. I put out a tweet on Twitter about it. Hopefully that will give your page some nice attention!

I read the false prince for a competitive reading team at my school. I finished it in a day. I fell in love with it. So much, that I went out and bought the runaway king. After that, I asked the coach of my reading team to get the third one, the shadow throne, which thankfully she did. I’m about to finish that one. I never had a favorite book or favorite author because I loved too many books. This has been the easiest decision though, that these are my favorite books by far, and you are my favorite author. Reading these books tought me so much. They tought me that there’s always a way to do something, to never give up. To never loose hope. But most importantly, they tought me to never run. I know that’s probably a much deeper, more serious level than you intense these books to reach people on, but it’s true. It’s helped me a lot. If you added more to this series, or made it into a movie, I would be so happy. If this went on for longer, or was in a version which I could watch it over and over again on a screen, I might actually cry. Please think about writing more or making a movie. I would be so happy.

i love your series so much i wish u would write another book with the same setting (and maybe even same characters?) as the ascendance trilogy. omg i soooooooooooo eel like reading the whole series again without knowing what happens next

ps. do u have any recommendations on other books u think we should read since we like the ascendance trilogy?

Thanks Farah! The movie isn’t yet a sure thing, and since it’s so early in the process, I don’t know yet what the rating will be. PG-13 seems pretty likely though – but that’s totally a guess on my part.

every time that i get stuck while writing, i always think, “hmm… what would Jennifer do?” it always makes things easier. of course i add my own style. like just a couple days ago, we had to write a three page story in language arts about the Holocaust or bullying (i chose bullying) but i couldn’t decide on an ending so i sat there thinking what you would do… “PLOT TWIST!”
after i finished, i let someone read it and they cried. so thank you, i definitely learned something from your writing!

Awesome! Your books are going to be officially higher on my list of favorite books as of tomorrow, because I haven’t updated the list in forever. (Therefore, I’ll be updating “For The FIRST TIME IN FOREVER! THERE’LL BE MUSIC, THERE’LL BE-” oh, sorry. More Frozen 🙂 )
I have a question. Last year our teacher read our class “The False Prince” and there has been some debate over if you pronounce it like it starts with an “H” or a “J”. Just wondering.
I just thought of something. I had almost always thought that Sage would end up being Jaron but sometime around chapter 20 or something I realized that Sage was Jaron. I could never figure out why I thought that but I finally realized: They both have green eyes. If 2 people are actually the same person, then of course they’d have the same color eyes, and I guess that’s what tipped me off.
I remember the day before we found out for certain Sage was Jaron, my classmate Alie raised her hand and said, “Jaron is like Sage with a crown.” At the time I really didn’t think much of it because I thought that my Sage-Is-Jaron theory was just crazy weirdness from me. Well, when it turned out Sage was Jaron I went completely psyco 🙂 .
Soon my 1 year mark of having read The Runaway King will come. I’ll celebrate by badgering the librarian into buying The Runaway King.
Oh, and one more thing.
THIS IS THE BEST BOOK SERIES EVER!!!!!!!!

Thanks Adrian. My next book will be part of the Praetor War series and is called Mark of the Thief. It’ll be out in February 2015 and takes place in Ancient Rome with the story of an escaped Roman slave, some stolen magic, and a battle to control the fall of the Roman Empire. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

I got the Shadow Throne yesterday and finished it today. It was fabulous!!!! Now I’m sad though because I have nothing else to read…at least nothing as good as that. Any other books you recommend? I haven’t been on here in forever, so is there any more recent movie news…aside from the fact that you said there wasn’t any yet. I am in love with the Ascendance Trilogy!

Congratulations Jennifer! I have all three of the Ascendance Trilogy books on Kindle but My bookstore doesn’t have the hard covers!!! When I finished reading the False Prince the first time ( 2 years ago) I thought: Wow, what an awesome book, pity there’s no sequel. The arrival of Runaway King in my library drove me insane! I have loved all three books and hope you continue writing such inspiring stories!
😀 Salvia

Ugh. Sorry to be spamming your comment. I’ll stop now, I promise, but they’re confusing me. Where it says “I’m so about that” I meant to write (or type, whichever one) “I’m so happy about that !!!!!!!!!”

I just finished The Shadow Throne and I swear I MEMORIZED EVERY SINGLE WORD. EVERY SINGLE WORD AND LETTER AND SPACE.
What’s the fourth letter on page 124?
“P.”
At least, if you don’t count the space. Seriously.
Just joking, I have the book in my hand.
But oh my goodness, Jennifer (Ms.Nielsen?), you’re SOO good at writing I can literally picture every scene in my head perfectly and THAT is just one of the marks of an incredibly talented writer.
I love Sage.Seriously.Can I marry him?
Please tell me when the movie comes out I swear I’ll bring the entire SCHOOL. 🙂 JK.
Okay I’ll stop fangirling now… 🙁

Wow, just…I’m really going to miss the Ascendance Trilogy, it’s was beautiful, thrilling, and absolutely Magnificent! You have been such an inspiration to me, and I want to be just like you! I’m such a fan. Oh. My. Gosh. You’re Mormon?! I am too! I had no idea! I was reading your bio at the end of one of your books and I saw, “lives is Utah” and I thought…hmm…there’s a good chance she’s probably Mormon. 😀 That’s amazing! Thank you so much for Writting these books, you are an absolutely incredible daughter of God. 🙂

Sorry to bother to you! One more question. So my friend has been reading the books, (SHE LOVES THEM) And we’re debating on how to say certain names, so, to settle our debate, I was wondering if you would help us out? How do you pronounce, Roden, Imogen, and Mott? 🙂

Thank you so much! I can finally tell her “I told ya so!” You are so sweet! Thank you so much, I can’t wait to read more of your books! You have been such an inspiration to me and Inwant to be more like you with each passing day! Thank you so much for writting these books! 😀

OH MY GOSH I LOVE THE SERIES!!! My dad and I LOVE to talk about each book and I have read them so many times!!!! I can’t wait to read all of the other books you have written, and I bet they are just as good as the Ascendance Trilogy! Are you working on any books right now?

Hi Eden! Thanks for reading this series – I’m honored and so pleased these books have meant so much to you and your dad.

I am always working on new books, in fact, right now I’m working on four! The first is a YA that will feel similar to False Prince, but it’s for a little older reader. I’m editing that. The second is a Holocaust era historical, which I’m researching. The third is a book from a multi-author series that’s a sort of sci-fi. I’m waiting on edits for that. The fourth is a super secret project that I’m writing when I have time. So I uh…have not worked on it for several weeks, but I’ll get back to it soon!